cédulavscélulasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cédula” and “células” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,614
“cédula” frequency rank
#3,834
“células” frequency rank
13448
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cédula células
Definition Papel o documento oficial, en que se hace constar una deuda, una obligación o cualquier información de este tipo. Forma del plural de célula.

Where the eye mixes cédula and células

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cédula runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against células's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
cédula
7 ch
células

Visual trap between cédula and células

A purely visual mix-up. cédula ([ˈseð̞ula]) and células ([ˈselulas]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13448, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cédula is recorded at frequency rank #9,614, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈseð̞ula]. células is at rank #3,834, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈselulas].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 13448, this pair ranks #287,836 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cédula vs células

Shared letters: aclué. Private to "cédula": d. Private to "células": s.

"cédula" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "células" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cédula" for "células" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈseð̞ula] versus [ˈselulas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cédula" or "células"?
"células" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,834 in our Spanish list, against #9,614 for "cédula". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cédula" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "células" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #287,836 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cédula" and "células" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cederá vs cédula". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #287,836 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list